Japanese Knotweed

[REDWOOD]

Seen a lot of Japanese knotweed flowering this week and lots of bees foraging the flowers and was wondering if it is a good for bees and if so what is the honey like

 

[BERNIE]

got lots of this knotweed at work where i keep a hive and they are all over it.have read bees get nectar from the flowers.as for what it is like i don't know.nor do i know what any of the honey my bees collect tastes like,another bad year may get a couple of jars, roll on next year.

 

[psafloyd]

got lots of this knotweed at work where i keep a hive and they are all over it.have read bees get nectar from the flowers.as for what it is like i don't know.nor do i know what any of the honey my bees collect tastes like,another bad year may get a couple of jars, roll on next year.

The only good knotweed is dead and/or burnt knotweed. Horrible stuff.

 

[Tom Bick]

I don’t know this as fact but I was told that all the knot weed in the country is all female plants and spread from contaminated soil and when and if we get male plants in the country we will have a big problem.

 

[REDWOOD]

I agree it is a problem plant and should be eradicated however if my bees are on it I'd like to know if the nectar is any good before I destroy it free of charge and plant heather or something bees like better

 

[Hivemaker.]

Not really a problem plant,just needs a little more care in its cultivation,thats all.

 

[REDWOOD]

Correct me if i'm wrong but I was told that if it is close to your house you have no chance of selling it

 

[Hivemaker.]

Correct me if i'm wrong but I was told that if it is close to your house you have no chance of selling it

Exellent, are these houses with knotweed in the garden free then.

 

[For want of a better word]

Exellent, are these houses with knotweed in the garden free then.

not exactly... but come with an IBC full of GLYCOPHOSPHATE !!

 

[BeeJayBee]

Correct me if i'm wrong but I was told that if it is close to your house you have no chance of selling it

because it's been known to break through floors!

 

[Into the lions den]

Its not so well known here yet as a honey source, but in such places as upstate New York it is now one of the main honey crops.

The honey is very dark, not so dark and strong as Buckwheat (which is very black with a malty treacly flavour), but like a mild version of it. Sort of reddish hue to it when held up to the light, nearest in colour that people might be familiar with is Bell heather, though knotweed is redder and even darker. Some love it, some think it unpleasant.

Only seen it once here, and that was a 'what on earth is this my bees have produced?' question from a beekeeper in the upper Tay valley where there are some significant stands of the stuff. He only had half a dozen hives so there was enough for him but not really any more. FWIW he loved the honey and would not sell any of it, keeping it all for himself and family. He must have had at leat 150lb of it, much of it in comb suitable for cutting.

 

[victor meldrew]

Lots in flower around here, every insect with wings seems to work it !
VM

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Hmm, that's two things we've got plenty of here = balsam and knotweed - have to see what comes off the hives next month

 

[Luminos]

Apparently Japanese Knotweed is edible.
No idea what it tastes like - sushi, I suppose...

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Apparently Japanese Knotweed is edible.
No idea what it tastes like - sushi, I suppose...

or another word which has sh.. in it!

On the same subject I've just read 'the beekeepers lament' and correct me if I'm wrong but I'm sure it mentions ragwort as a main crop honey plant

 

[Erichalfbee]

or another word which has sh.. in it!

On the same subject I've just read 'the beekeepers lament' and correct me if I'm wrong but I'm sure it mentions ragwort as a main crop honey plant

Yes, what is it suddenly with Ragwort. Soooooo much around.
As a youngster I used to join ragwort pulling in the local fields.

 

[REDWOOD]

thankyou ITLD for my answer, as what jenkinsbrynmair it will be interesting to see what the last supers of honey will be this year heather, knot weed or HB or a mixture of the 3

 

[matstones]

I agree it is a problem plant and should be eradicated however if my bees are on it I'd like to know if the nectar is any good before I destroy it free of charge and plant heather or something bees like better

Its one of the few plants still flowering (mid Sept), so has that in its favour. It normally only grows near water ie along riverbanks, so not sure if heather is a viable alternative...

Where we live it has displaced all the brambles and nettles on the banks - don't miss the nettles too much, but it was nice getting blackberries !

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Its It normally only grows near water ie along riverbanks,

Not around here - it grows everywhere

 

[REDWOOD]

It sure does, must be our climate in Wales WET